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Game 24,  DOWN , OUT and OVER in Cheesequake
Montville plays it's last game of the season against Cheesequake at Cheesequake in a losing effort 7-4.  Montville trailed the entire game and in the bottom of the 6th, trailing 7-0 Montville rallied for 4 runs but came up short.  Monvtille suffered another big injury on Sunday when ace pitcher Ian Tresser twisted his knee on the crooked Cheesequake mound.  Ian tried to start the game today at first base but had to drop out in the 2nd inning.  Things still looked good for Montville with Brian Keane and Jordan Gajdos scheduled to pitch.  Brian Keane started the game and the first batter bunted to Ian who just couldn't get to the ball fast enough and Cheesequake had their leadoff batter on board.  The next pitch got by the catcher and the runner moved up to second.  Then the batter doubled right over third base allowing a run to score.  Montville got a little sloppy fielding and after an error, two costly fielded outs without checking the runner on third, and several pass balls, Montville trailed 3-0.  Montville managed to get hits in every inning but failed to score as Cheesequake got the benefit of great bounces and some close calls and blanked Montville for 5 straight innings.  Montville had it's best chance in the 3rd when John (3 hits) Marchionda singled and stole second but was tagged out advancing to third on a single over third base that the shortstop fielded in the grass in shallow left.  The initial call at third was safe but the ump noticed that the Cheesequake 3rd baseman's leg was blocking the bag and the ump reversed his call.  What a bad break for Montville.  Montville had potentially another bad break in the 2nd when with one out Brian Keane walked and then Michael Trifari hit a slow grounder to second that hit Brian Keane in the foot as he tried to jump over it going to second.  The way Michael and Brain run it looked like they both might have been safe.  Meanwhile, Cheesequake was able to score another  run in the 3rd off Jordan when the first two batters walked and a passed ball and dropped ball thrown back to the pitcher allowed the runner to advance to third.  Then another ground ball to short scored the runner without the fielder looking him back.   Cheesequake scored three more big runs in the 5th with  3 walks, an error on a fly ball in the sun in right, and a costly 2 rbi single up the middle,  just under Jordan's glove.  Cheesequake scored their 7th run on only 4 hits, 3 errors and far too many passed balls.  Troy Zbieg pitched the 6th inning and got Cheesequake out 1,2,3 and Montville finally showed some signs of life.  In the 6th Montville finally woke up when Jordan led off with a walk, Matt Kelly singled, Brian Keane walked to load the bases,  Michael Trifari fouled off a few balls and then walked in Montville's first run.  Then the next two batters struck out with the bases loaded.  John Marchionda singled in two runs and Cheesquake started throwing the ball around and Montville scored another to make it 7-4 with two outs.  But the next batter grounded out to second and the game was over.  Montville out hits Cheesequake 9 - 4 but loses 7-4 and it's exciting season comes to a close.  Congratulations to all the players on a great season.

Double Header Weekend ( Playoffs and States) Montville gets hit with a bad draw and must play the Livingston Playoffs and States (1st and 2nd) rounds on Saturday and Sunday.  Montville wins the 1st and 4th game.

Game 23,  States vs North Bergen 11-2 W
Montville plays it's 4 game of a back to back double header.  Just when you thought they may be running out of gas, a few Power Bars and pouring water down their backs seemed to help in bringing them back to life.  Montville bounces back to win big and advance to the next round against home town Cheesequake. More on this story later.

Game 22,  Livingston Finals vs Livingston American 17-5 L
Montville gets up early (which has been a bad thing all year) to face a hungry Livingston American Team, still upset in losing their first place title to NC when Montville defeated them 14-6 last week.  Things were looking great early when John Marchionda led off with a walk, Brandon singled and Troy reached on Error allowing John to score.  Jordan walked and with no outs, bases loaded, Ian ripped a liner to center in the gap.  The center fielder runs over making a great catch and Brandon makes a quick tag up but doesn't wait long enough and is caught on an appeal play leaving early.  Montville blows a big opportunity and takes a 1-0 lead.  Troy Zbieg was pitching and after a lead off single and two walks, the bases were loaded with  two outs.  Montville had a chance to get out of a jam but the Livingston runner dodged a tag attempt at second and a run scored.  After another run walked home Troy got a big strikeout and Montville trailed 2-1.  Livingston scored another in the 2nd and in the top of the third, trailing 3-1, Anthony Altieri led off with a walk, John reached on error, Brandon singled again, Jordan walked in a run and Montville tied the game at 3-3.  With bases loaded and two outs Michael Trifari singled on the line in right scoring two and Montville led 5-3.  After that it was all downhill as Montville fell apart giving up  6 walks, 6 hits and 3 errors in two innings including two costly throwing errors by the catcher into right field and a difficult but catchable  liner to right and Montville crashed and burned to a 17-5 defeat in 4 innings.  The only good thing was they saved a little energy for the important afternoon State game and got out early for lunch.  

Game 21,  States vs Reddington 4-11 L
Montville plays it's second game of the day and it's first ever State game against a tough Reddington team.  Expecting beautiful fields and PA announcers,  Montville was rather disappointed to find fields with crooked pitcher's mounds and sloped outfields.  Thankfully the dugouts had roofs and there was a snack bar and some porto Johns.  Hardly worth the 1 hour ride. The only thing worse than the fields was their draw in the first round.  Reddington was rumored to have a nice team and these guys lived up to their reputation as they ripped two singles off starter Jordan Gajdos in the first inning.  Then a sac fly and two errors later Reddington was up 2-0.  But Montville answered right back with 4 runs in the bottom of one when John Marchionda singled, Brandon singled, Troy ripped a 2 RBI triple to right, Jordan reached on error, Ian walked, Michael Trifari walked and with no out and first an second, Montville managed one more run on a FC by Michael DelloStritto but couldn't deliver the knock out punch.  Montville answered back to take a  4-2 lead.  But Reddington got back to work in the 2nd with one out the first batter singled, next batter walked and then a costly mistake in center loaded the bases with one out.  The next batter doubled then two singles later Reddington was up 6-4.  Montville only managed 2 more hits for the rest of the game.  Brandon and Troy also pitched but Montville gave up far too many walks (8) and committed 4 errors in this costly first round loss.

Game 20,  League Playoffs vs North Caldwell 11-3 W
Montville begins it back to back double header weekend with a big win over rival North Caldwell.  Back from the injured reserve were Brian Keane and John Marchionda.  John Marchionda got things started for Montville in the first with a single, Brandon walked, Jordan singled over short to score John, Troy walked and North Caldwell pulled their ace pitcher Lawless.  Then Ian Walked, Matt Kelly singled in a run and so did Matt Ferguson to make the score 5-0.  North Caldwell scored twice off Ian Tresser in the first, but then Ian shut down NC for the next two with the help of great plays by Matt Kelly at third and more plays by Jordan at short and Anthony and Michael at second.  Montville was incredible in the field making 16 fielded outs in the game with only 2 errors.  In the second John Marchionda crushed one over the left fielder's head for a RBI double and Jordan ripped a Sac fly, Troy also singled and Montville led 7-2 after 2.  Montville blew the game open in the 5th when John singled, Brandon singled, Ian singled in a run, Michael Trifari walked, Matt Kelly singled in a run, Matt Ferguson singled again, Michael D walked and Montville lead 11-3.  Brian Keane pitched in his first game in two weeks and Anthony Altieri closed out the game.  The Altieri's treated everyone to lunch (THANK YOU) and the kids got in the car for the big trip to Cheesequake.

Game 19,  League v Milburn
This game didn't matter in the standings so everyone pitched and Montville lost 

Game 18,  League vs Livingston American 14-6 W
Montville shows a lot of character today after getting beat badly on Saturday and trailing 3-0 in the first.  But the boys were focused and were very positive and quickly turned the 3-0 deficit to a 6-3 lead.  Jordan Gajdos started things off early for Montville with a lead off rip to center for a single.  But Montville couldn't manage any more hits and stranded Jordan on third.  Ian Tresser started for Montville and after a few quick fielding mistakes and a few singles, found himself in a 3-0 game.  But Ian kept his poise and struckout the next batter and Anthony Altieri got the last out at second to prevent any more damage.  Montville came back to the dugout with their heads up and everyone was pumped up for a big inning.  Captain John (Cheeze -It) Marchionda said a few words to inspire the team and  Matt (hotdog and fries) Kelly drew a big lead off walk to get the ball rolling.  Matt Ferguson reached on error which allowed Matt Kelly to advance to third.  Mike DelloStritto reached on error also and Matt Kelly scored.  With one out Jordan walked and Ian hit a big single up the middle to score Matt. Brandon (Sore Knee) Adler walked in the tying run and Jordan stole home to give Montville a 4-3 lead.  But Montville wasn't done yet and after Troy Zbieg walked to load the bases, Michael Trifari ripped a liner to center to score Ian and Brandon and Montville went up 6-3.  Ian pitched great in the 2nd and after a leadoff single Brandon was able to catch the Livingston runner on first after a wild throw for a big out.  The runner turned to advance to second.  Brandon made another great play on a popup behind first for the second out and Michael T threw out the last runner for a 1,2,3, inning.  Montville added to it's lead in the 3rd when Michael DelloStritto led off with a singled up the middle.  Then came the big play.  Anthony Altieri laid down a picture perfect bunt down third allowing Michael D to come all the way around to third.  Then a bad throw to first scored Michael and Anthony went to second.   Jordan singled in Anthony and Ian walked. Then Livingston brought in their secret weapon.  The lobber.  This boy threw so slow you could swing three times before the ball got to the plate.  Everyone was way out in front but Brandon managed to hit a FC to score another, Troy hit an infield single and Matt Kelly walked in a run for a 9-3 lead.  Ian was again perfect in the 3rd only allowing one baserunner.  Montville only managed two hits for the next two lobber  innings.  Anthony had one and Brandon singled and scored in the 4th by stealing home.  Troy Zbieg pitched one hit 4th and amused the fans by hitting the batter's bats twice on wild pitches behind the batters.   Livingston scored twice in the 5th off Troy when the leadoff  batter singled off Troy's foot,  then a walk and two stolen bases later an infield put out to Anthony plated a run.  Troy struck out the next batter with a 3-2 count and Jordan caught a line drive at short to end the inning.  Montville led 10-5  Michael DelloStritto again led off the 6th with a ball that hopped by the first baseman.  Anthony hit into a FC and then Jordan ripped a hard grounder that was going up the middle. The the Livingston 2nd baseman made a super play to stab it and with 2 outs and Jordan at first Ian walked.  Jordan and Ian stole bases and Brandon hit one off the 3rd baseman's mitt scoring Ian and Jordan.  Troy singled over third to score Brandon and Michael Trifari knocked in Troy with a grounder up the middle.  Anthony Atieri pitched the 6th and although he got into trouble, struck out the last two to end the game.  Montville strikes back with an impressive 14-6 win over 9-2 Livingston and clinches 1st place in their division. Way to go Montville.

Game 17,  Montville goes down after winning 13 straight games 4-11 vs Livingston National L
Playing with only 9 players and without leadoff sensation John (sore foot) Marchionda, Montville faced a tough Livingston team on their home field, struggling and recently being eliminated from the playoffs.  Montville sent Matt Ferguson out to pitch in only his second game of the season.  Montville threatened to score in the first with Brandon at third and Ian on First who both walked.  Ian stole second and was thrown out on a close call at second by the Livingston catcher.  What was supposed to be a rundown play turned into an inning ending out without allowing Brandon time to score.  Matt Ferguson got a tough ball call on the first batter with a 3-2 count and  a few hits later Montville was trailing 4-0   Montville rallied back with one out in the second when Michael Trifari walked and Matt Kelly singled to center.  Mike stole third and stole home for Montville's first run.  Matt Kelly also stole home and after Michael DelloStritto and Anthony Altieri walked and Brandon and Jordan were hit by pitches, Montville cut the lead to 4-3.  Ian grounded out to the pitcher to end the inning.  Jordan Gajdos pitched the second and struckout the first two batters.  Then Jordan walked the leadoff batter with a 3-2 count, walked the next batter as well and then Livingston doubled to deep center scoring both runs.   Montville battled back to score another in the 3rd when Michael Trifari got hit by a pitch with one out, stole second, Matt Kelly reached on by throwing error, Matt Ferguson also reached on a throwing error scoring Mike.  Then a crazy play got Matt Kelly out at home when Matt Ferguson tried to steal third with Matt Kelly standing on the base.  Turns out to be a big play because with runners at 1st and 2nd Anthony Altiere flew out to third to end the inning with Brandon on deck.  Livingston added two more in the third after the first two batters walked and another big hit plated 2 runs.  Montville was sloppy backing up.  Jordan struckout the next three.  Montville didn't have a baserunner for the next two innings as Livingston made all the plays in the field.  Brandon came in to pitch for Montville and also gave up a few runs off of a few doubles, some walkes and 2 strikeouts.  Again the deep backstop hurt Montville allowing 12 baserunners to advance on pass balls and wild pitches.  But Montville just didn't look sharp today making three big baserunning mistakes, not backing up throws and throwing way to many wild pitches.  Hopefully we got all the bad stuff out in one game.  Montville names John  Marchionda team captain to help fire up the troops for a big game Monday against Livingston American.

Game 16,  League vs West Orange 8-3 W
Expecting an easy win over West Orange, Montville came out a little flat today and had to battle for an 8-3 win.  Basketball camp and 90 degree weather might have also been a factor for most of the players.  After an UGLY infield practice Montville sent Anthony Altieri to the mound.  Thankfully Anthony spent most of the day resting and was super on the mound pitching 3 innings and allowing only 3 hits, with no runs and recording 4 strikeouts.  Brandon Adler and John (sore foot) Marchionda led the way offensively with John racking up 2 hits including a leadoff triple and second inning 2 RBI double and Brandon hitting 3 singles and 2 RBI's.  West Orange threatened to score in the first when a ball got by Ian at first.  But Ian hustled and made a great throw to the plate to nail the runner.  John Marchionda led off with a triple, Brandon reached on error, Jordan flew out, Ian Tresser walked and Michael Trifari walked in the games first run.  Mike DelloStritto got hit in the helmet for an RBI and Ian was called out stealing home on a call that was so bad nobody could believe it.  Montville led 2-0 after one.  With runners at 2nd and 3rd, Anthony pitched his way out of the 2nd  inning with two strikeouts.  Matt Ferguson led off the bottom of the 2nd with a nice single to right and Anthony walked.  John doubled scoring both runners and Montville led 4-0.  Brandon singled in John, Jordan had a FC, Ian walked and with runners at second and third Matt Kelly ripped a liner right at the shortstop for the last out.  Anthony got out of trouble again in the 3rd with runners at 2nd and 3rd, one out.  Anthony got the next batter to fly out to Michael at second and then the last batter to fly out to Jordan.  Montville did not score in the 3rd as John lined out to the third baseman.  Michael Trifari pitched the 4th and started off great getting the first batter to fly out to Jordan, striking out the next, but a walk, two ground balls up the middle and an error allowed 3 West Orange runs to score.  With a 5 to 3 lead Brandon led off the 4th with a single, stole second and scored on a bloop single by Jordan over third, Ian singled in Jordan up the middle and Matt Kelly had an infield hit, but Montville could not score any more and led 7-3.  Michael pitched a perfect 1,2,3 5th inning and made a nice play on a comebacker.  Anthony fielded a tough hop at second for the last out.  Anthony Altieri walked and scored on an RBI single by Brandon and Montville led 8-3.  Brandon came in for the save pitching the 6th.  After allowing a leadoff double Brandon cranked up the heat and struck out the next 2 batters.  John Marchionda fielded a hard grounder at third and Ian Tresser made a great scoop at first to end the game on a spectacular play.  Next up Milburn.  Let be ready for this one guys.

Game 15,  League vs Bernardsville  13-1 W
Montville gets revenge for it's 4-0 loss in Bernardsville earlier in the season with a 13-1 romp of Bernardsville that ended in the 4th inning by mercy rule.  Ian Tresser pitched a brilliant 1 hit shutout thru 3 innings and some great plays in the field by John Marchionda and Anthony (the vaccum) Altieri kept Bernardsville from scoring early in the game.  Montville threatened to score in the first inning when John Marchionda reached base on error, Brandon hit a Fielder's Choice, Jordan Gajdos lined out to right.  Ian Tresser singled to left and with two outs Michael Trifari batted with runners at 2nd and 3rd.    Michael hits a 2 strike pitch up the middle and it looked like Montville was going to take the lead.  However Ian (white men can't jump) Tresser tried to hop over the ball going up the middle and was hit in the leg and called out to end the inning with no runs.  Montville scored big in the 3rd in a 0-0 game when John Marchionda led off with a hit by pitch,  Brandon singled to right center but a good play by the outfielder prevented John from scoring.  Jordan knocked in the first run of the game with a sac fly to center.  Ian reached on error and Michael Trifari singled to right and another good play in the outfield prevented another run.  With bases loaded, 1 out Matt Kelly ripped a double down the first base line scoring two.  Michael DelloStritto walked, Matt Ferguson walked in a run with a 3-2 count, Anthony walked in another run to make it 5-0.  John Marchionda scored Mike D. with a sac fly.  Brandon hit his second single of the inning to score another.  Jordan singled in another and Montville led 8-0 after 3.  Brandon pitched the 4th and was really bringing the heat.  Bernardsville managed one run off  3 walks and a HP and Brandon struckout the last batter with bases loaded to end the inning.  Matt Kelly led off the 4th with a triple over the center fielder's head.  Michael D. walked for the 3rd time and Matt Ferguson hit one by the first baseman scoring Matt K. and Michael D.  Anthony Altieri singled and  with the outfield way in,  Jordan singled to right scoring 2 more.   Ian Tresser ended the game with a sac fly to score Brandon and Montville won by mercy rule 13-1 taking a commanding 3 game lead in their division.  Montville welcomed back Brian Keane and was happy to hear that Brian will most likely be available to pitch in the State tournament on July 27th in Cheesequake.

Game 14,  Wayne Tournament finals  vs Wyckoff  19-3 W
Wyckoff scored 2 runs in the first on 4 walks and an error.  A third run would have walked home however the Palm Pilot indicated the count was 3-1 and after conferring with the umpire the runners were asked to go back.  Jordan Gajdos proceeded to strike out the next two and Wyckoff led 2-0. Montville answered right back when John Marchionda led off with a walk, Brandon had an infield hit, Troy Zbieg reached on error to load the bases.  Jordan Gajdos doubled in 2 runs,  Ian hit a grounder to short and Troy was thrown out at home, Then Mke Trifari hit a liner to right for a sac fly and Montville led 3-2.  Jordan then pitched two scoreless innings recording 5 more strikeouts (8 total in 3 inning) while not appearing to be throwing his best stuff.  Montville plated 3 more runs in the 2nd when Matt Kelly led off with a single up the middle.  Matt Ferguson walked, Anthony Altieri walked to load the bases, John singled in a run, Brandon hit a FC that scored another and Troy also hit a FC to score a run.  Montville led 6-2 after 2.  Montville blew the game open in the 3rd when Michael Trifari homered to lead off the inning.  Then Montville followed with 9 straight hits by,  Mike Dellostritto, Matt Ferguson, John Marchionda tripled over the center fielder's head for 3 RBI's, Brandon singled in John, Jordan doubled in a run, Ian FC in a run and Montville took a commanding 15-2 lead after 3.  Montville scored more in the 5th when Jordan, Ian and Mike D singled and Matt Kelly singled in 2 more runs.  Anthony Altieri singled, John Marchionda doubled in two more giving him 6 RBI's for the game.   John Marchionda pitched the 4th and 5th allowing 1 hit and recording 4 strikeouts.  Anthony Altieri closed it out on the mound and the game ended with a great double play by John Marchionda at second, tagging the runner and throwing to first.  Montville won it's second Tournament of the year with a 19-3 margin.  Way to go Montville!!  Great party at the Adler's after the game.

Game 13,  League vs Livingston 11-6 
Montville was able to over come 7 errors to defeat Livingston Nationals 11-6. Ian Tresser started for Montville and struckout 3 batters in two innings allowing 3 runs and 2 hits.  Brandon Adler pitched 2 innings allowing 2 hits and 1 run with 1 strikeout, Troy Zbieg pitched the last two allowing 2 runs and one hit with 3 strikeouts.  Montville scored 6 in the first when John Marchionda walked, Troy doubled to left scoring John, Jordan Gajdos singled scoring Troy,  Ian singled scoring Jordan, Michael Trifari doubled,  Mike DelloStritto walked, Matt Ferguson walked in a run, Anthony Altieri walked in a run,  John walked in a run and Montville led 6-0.  Montville score another in the 2nd off an Ian Tresser triple.  Brandon and Jordan doubled in runs in the 3rd and John Marchionda sacraficed in a run in the 5th.

Game 12,  League vs Union 13-0 
The skies opened up right before game time and dumped about an inch of rain on the fields.  But the Montville grounds crew led by Pat Marchionda had the field in perfect condition for tonight's game against Union.  Ian Tresser started for Montville and pitched his best game of the year.  Three innings, 4 strikeouts, one hit, one walk and no runs.  Montville platted 5 runs in the first after John Marchionda ripped a single down the third base line.  Brandon Adler and Troy Zbieg walked to load the bases.   Jordan Gajdos hit a hard grounder to short and John was out at the plate, Ian Tresser hit a combacker to the mound and Brandon was out at the plate.  With two outs and a full count  Michael Trifari ripped a single to center scoring Troy and Jordan and Montville led 2-0.  Michael DelloStritto walked and Matt Kelly ripped a single to right scoring Ian and Mike T and a bad relay also allowed Mike D to score giving Montville a 5-0 lead after one.  In the second Anthony Altieri led off with a walk followed by a single from John Marchionda.   Brandon smashed a liner that rolled by the outfielder scoring Anthony and John.  Troy walked, Ian singled, Mike T. walked Mike D. walked, Matt Kelly got hit in the back of the neck, Matt Ferguson got an infield hit and Anthony FC'ed a run in to give Montville a 13-0 lead.  Brandon came in to pitch the 4th and dominated on the mound striking out 3 of Union's top 4 batters to end the game by mercy rule.  After facing Brandon Union quickly packed up their stuff and left the park in a hurry.  Oh well,  that meant no lines at the snack bar.

Game 11,  League vs Kenilworth  14-2 W
The Montville bat attack was in full swing today scoring 14 runs on 11 hits.  John (gotta go) Marchionda started things off with a led off line drive to center, Brandon Adler doubled in the right center gap and Troy Zbieg singled in John and Brandon.  Jordan Gajdos walked and Ian singled up the middle to score two more.  Michael Trifari tripled over the left fielders head scoring Ian and Mike DelloStritto singled to left to score Mike T.   Montville led 6-0. But Kenilworth answered back with two runs off Anthony Altieri on a walk and steal of home.  Anthony shut down Kenilworth for 2 more innings with 3 strikeouts and allowed only one baserunner by a walk.  Matt Ferguson made the play of the day from right field throwing out a runner at first on a hard ground ball.  Montville scored big in the 4th when John Marchionda walked, Brandon doubled, Troy hit a sac fly,  Jordan tripled in one, Ian walked, Mike T. walked Mike DelloStritto ripped his second RBI single, Matt Kelly bombed a double to the fence knocking in two runs, and Montville took a 12-2 lead.  Michael Trifari pitched the 4th and 5th innings and was effective striking out 5 batters and allowing one hit and one walk.  Montville ended the game by Mercy Rule in the 5th scoring two on some sloppy plays in the field by Kenilworth.  I'd like to write a little more about the game but I GOTTA GO!!!

Game 10,  Wayne Tournament semi finals  vs Wyckoff  9-8 W
Wyckoff jumped out to an early lead smashing 4 hits and scoring 3 in the first.  Montville lost a great opportunity in the bottom of the 1st when John Marchionda singled, Brandon Adler singled, Troy Zbieg singled but after a strike out  Brandon got doubled up at second on a line drive off the bat of Ian Tresser to end the inning with no runs.  Montville finally scored in the 3rd when Matt Ferguson led off with a double and John Marchionda singled him in.  Wyckoff scored another in the 3rd and with 2nd and 3rd Ian Tresser was running out of gas on the mound.  The coach went out to see how he was feeling and Ian said he want to stay in.  He got the next batter to fly out to first and then struck out the last.  After 3 Wyckoff led 4-1.   After some pitching troubles in the forth Wyckoff platted 4 more runs on 3 walks and a HP before John Marchionda came in and struck out two.  Trailing 8-1 Montville added another  in the 4th when Jordan reached on error and scored on a double by Ian Tresser.  John got some help on a great relay after a double in the 5th when Matt Kelly threw to Brandon who threw to Troy to nail the batter trying to stretch to a triple.  Wyckoff did not score that inning and Montville came to bat in the bottom of the 5th, trailing 8-2.  Matt Ferguson led the inning off with a single to right, followed by a walk to Anthony, single by John, Error on Brandon, FC and RBI by Troy, Sac fly by Jordan, Walk to Ian, Hit by Pitch to Michael Trifari, bringing up Matt Kelly with 2 out, second and third, trailing 8-7.  Matt Kelly ripped a single up the middle scoring the tying and go ahead run and Montville came from behind to lead 9-8.  John Marchionda closed the door in the 6th by striking out the first batter on 3-2 count, fielding a comebacker, walked one who eventually stole 2nd and 3rd but the next batter hit a ground ball to Anthony (the vacuum) Altieri at second for the final out.  Montville came from behind 7 runs to defeat Wyckoff and advanced to the finals next Saturday.  What a great finish.

Game 9,  Districts final round  vs Mt. Olive  11-1 W
Jordan Gajdos started today on the hill and after the first batter lined out to second, three Mt. Olive players singled and Mt Olive jumped out to a 1-0 led.  Jordan then kicked up the velocity and struck out next two batter to ending the inning with two Mt Olive baserunners stranded at 2nd and 3rd.  Montville answered right back in the bottom of the 1st when John Marchionda hit a two strike fastball in the right center gap for a double.  Brandon followed with a single, then stole second,  but the next two batters struck out and Ian Tresser walked to load the bases with two outs.  Michael Trifari ripped a two strike single to right clearing the bases and Montville was out on top 3-1.   Jordan was brilliant in the 2nd and third striking out 4 more and not allowing any baserunners.  Montville added to their lead in the 2nd when Matt Kelly led off an reached on error,  followed by Anthony Altieri walking,   Brandon drove in Matt Kelly on a FC, Troy singled in two, Jordan singled in one and Montville led 7-0  Montville added another in the 3rd when Matt Kelly singled, John Marchionda singled in Matt.  Troy Zbieg came in to pitch the 4th and only allowed 2 baserunners in two innings with 3 strikeouts.  Montville ended the game by mercy rule in the 5th when Anthony and John walked, Brandon singled and Jordan doubled in two to seal the victory.  Montville will advance to play in the State Finals starting on July 19.  Garden State Parkway, here we come.

Game 8.  League vs West Orange  25-11 W
Montville Squeezes West Orange for 25 runs including a grand slam by Jordan Gajdos and back to back homer by Ian Tresser.  Jordan had 6 RBIs on two hits and Michael Trifari had 5 RBIs on three hits including two doubles to lead the way for Montville.  Brian Keane also had three hits and 3 RBIs before injuring his finger on a tag play at second.  John Marchionda, Troy (one less tooth)  Zbieg, Ian Tresser, Matt Ferguson, and Anthony Altieri all had 2 hits each to propel the Montville 20 hit attack.   Brian Keane got things started ripping a single up the middle followed by another single by John Marchionda.  Troy knocked in Brian with an infield error and Jordan singled in John.  Ian Tresser walked and Michael Trifari hit a bases clearing double and Montville led 7-0.  West Orange answered back with 4 runs in the bottom of the 1st off Anthony Altieri as two walks and an error scored off a double and single with two outs.   Michael DelloStritto singled in Troy in the second and Anthony shut down WO in the second as Montville led 8-4. Montville scored 5 more in the 3rd when Matt Ferguson led off with a single, Anthony walked, Brian scored Matt F. on a FC, Troy singled in Brian, Ian walked and Michael Trifari lined a single over the first baseman's head to score Troy and Ian.  Ian Tresser pitched the 3rd and after walking the bases loaded with two out, struckout the last batter to end the inning.  Montville led 13-4 after 3.  Brian Keane singled in another run in the 4th and Anthony Altieri walked and scored on an error. Michael Trifari pitched his first inning of the year and allowed one run off an error, with one strikeout.  Matt Ferguson nailed a runner at second trying to steal and on the play Brain Keane hurt his thumb making the tag.  Let's hope Brian is OK to pitch tomorrow in the District Finals.  Mike DelloStritto hit a FC that scored Michael Trifari in the 5th.   John Marchionda got some help while pitching the 5th by Matt Ferguson to get out of a bases loaded jam when Matt snaged a low line drive and steped on third for the double play.  Then with Montville leading 16-7, following 4 straight hits by Matt Ferguson, Anthony Alteri,  John Marchionda and Troy Zbieg, Jordan Gajdos hit grand slam home run in the right center gap.  Ian Tresser followed with a bomb over the right fielders head for another homer and Michael Trifari hit one over the left fielders head for a double.  Matt Kelly singled and Anthony Altieri launched a triple in the left center gap.  Montville led 25-7.  Matt Ferguson closed the game and although he walked a few he recorded 3 strikeout to end the game with Montville on top 25-11.  Rest up boys, big day tomorrow with the District finals at 5:00 and Wayne semi's at 8:00. And don't forget to bring those bats.  BTW in case you were wondering, Brandon could not attend the game today. 

Game 7.  Wayne Tournament vs Woodridge  16-0 W
Montville got back to work after a 3 day, well deserved rest.  In 96 degree heat Montville started the day with a morning practice, then just showed up right before the 3:00 game time and pounded out 16 runs in the heat.  Troy Zbieg started on the hill and pitched his way out of a bases loaded jam with John Marchionda fielding a hot grounder at third for the last out.  Montville got on the board in the top of the second when Mike Trifari worked a 1 out walk, Mike DelloStritto hit an infield single, Matt Kelly reached on error and Matt Ferguson hit a run scoring ground out to give Montville a 1-0 advantage.  Montville rotated pitchers each inning due to the severe weather and Anthony Altieri pitched the second inning.  He was also aided by  John Marchionda, this time making a diving catch in left field.  In the top of the 3rd Montville railied off John Marchinoda's lead off double.  Brandon Adler singled and with 1st and 3rd, two outs Jordan Gajdos doubled over the centerfielder head to score John and Brandon.  Then Ian Tresser singled and stole second and with two strikes, Michael Trifari lined a single to center to score Jordan and Ian.  Montville took a 5-0 lead.  Jordan pitched the 3rd and was again aided by another great play in the field.  This time by Brian Keane at short stop making an over the shoulder catch in shallow left.  Michael DelloStritto threw out his second baserunner of the game and Brandon fielded a hot grounder at first to prevent any runs.  Matt Kelly lead off the 4th with a hard single down the line but some baserunner problems prevented an more Montville runs ( it's ok, we're learning as we go).  Montville got a second inning pitching from  Jordan and again the gloves were sparkling as Brandon made an over the shoulder catch at first on a ball down the right field line.  With runners on first and second Jordan struckout the last batter and Montville still lead 5-0 after 4.  Then came the Big, Big inning.  With one out Brandon walked, followed by Troy Zbieg's blast to left for a double, Jordan's single, Ian's RBI single, Mike Trifari's Hit by Pitch,  Mike D's RBI FC, Matt Kelly and Matt Ferguson walked in runs, Anthony Altieri singled in another, John Marchionda singled in 2 more, Brandon singled, Troy Zbieg singled, Jordan singled and Montville took an impressive 16-0 lead scoring 11 runs in one inning.  Matt Kelly came on to pitch the 5th and preserved the shutout as Montville won by mercy rule and advances to the winners bracket finals beating Woodridge on 16 runs, 16 hits, 16 RBI and plenty of great plays in the field.

Game 6.  Districts second round  vs Mt. Olive  9-1 W
After pitching great in the first game yesterday, Brian Keane started again on the mound today for Montville.  Brian allowed only 1 run for 3 innings while recording 5 strikeouts.  Brian got some  nice backup by his outfielders Troy Zbieg and Matt Ferguson which prevented Mt. Olive from scoring after hitting 3 singles in a row in the 2nd inning.  Anthony Altieri shined at 2nd today making 3 nice fielding plays.  Montville got a lead off single from Brian Keane in the bottom of the first trailing 0-1.  John Marchionda followed with a double to center scoring Brian to tie the game at 1-1.  Brandon and Troy reached on errors and Jordan hit a sac fly to score John (ear plugs) Marchionda from third.  Ian Tresser singled to left to score Brandon and Montville led 3-1 after one.  After Anthony walked in the 2nd, Brian and John hit the ball hard but Mt Olive caught both balls.  With 2 strikes on Brandon, Anthony was caught stealing to end the inning allowing Brandon to lead off the 3rd with a new count.  Brian held Mt. Olive scoreless in the third and Bradon led off  the bottom of the 3rd with a single to center.  Brandon stole second and scored when Troy reached on error.   Jordan singled over shortstop, then  Ian Tresser hit a gounder to second and some great baserunning by Jordan to dodge a tag by the second baseman brought up Michael Trifari with bases loaded.   Mike ripped a hard gounder off the shortstop's glove scoring Troy and Brian Keane ripped a two RBI single to center.  John Marchionda ripped another single to right center and Montville blew the game open 8-1.  Montville managed another run in the 5th when Michael Trifari singled and stole 2nd and 3rd.  Then he scored when Brandon singled to center.  A nice throw by the Mt Olive center fielder gunned out Anthony Altieri at home to end the inning.   Jordan Gajdos pitched perfectly for 3 innings recording 5 strikeouts and only allowing one single and one walk.  Montville won 9-1 and advances to the finals to face the winner of Mt. Olive and Long Hill next Saturday at 5:00. Way to go Montville!  9 hits, 9 runs and 0 errors.  One more to go.

Game 5.  Districts first round  vs Long Hill  25-2 W
Montville showed off their baserunning skills today as they exploded for 25 runs to defeat Long Hill in the first round of the Cal Ripken 9yr old District Tournament.  Brian Keane pitched the first two innings and allowed only 1 run on 1 hit and recorded 3 strikeouts.  Brian led off the bottom of the 1st with a single and Montville scored when Jordan Gajdos looped a ball over the first baseman's head.  Montville took advantage of a Long Hill throwing error back to the pitcher and scored 2 more.  Montville exploded for 6 runs in the 2nd when Anthony Altieri led off with a walk, followed by a bunt single by Mike DelloStritto, Ian Tresser walked, Brian Keane got an RBI on a FC, Brandon singled in another, Troy doubled to right to score another, then Jordan bombed one to the fence in right center for a triple,  Mike Trifari hit one by the second baseman and Anthony lined out to short.  After 2 Montville took a commanding 9-1 lead.  Troy Zbeig pitched the 3rd and 4th allowing 1 run on 1 hit with 2 strikeouts.  Long Hill made a pitching change and Montville bombed the new pitcher for 16 runs on 8 hits (by Brandon, Brian, Jordan, Matt Kelly, Matt Ferguson and Ian) and 7 walks.  Brandon pitched the last inning and took 4 pitched to closed the came with Montville on top 25-2 

Game 4.  Wayne Tournament vs Milburn  3-1 W
Montville gets back on the winning track beating a tough Milburn team in a close 3-1 game to open the Wayne Tournament.  Ian Tresser pitched the first two for Montville and after opening the game with a hit batter and an error by the infield,  Ian struck out the next two and Jordan Gajdos threw out the next on a ground ball to short.   Montville found a way to finally score a run when Brian Keane led off with a fly to left that was dropped.  With one out Brandon drilled a line drive in the gap moving John Marchionda to third,  Troy Zbieg reached on error and John scored.  Michael Trifari hit a gound ball to second and the second baseman tagged Troy and threw Mike out at first (bad call) to prevent another run.  Montville got sloppy in the 2nd when Ian walked a batter then a bad throw allowed the runner from first to come all the way around to score.  Poor defensive play by not backing up first allowed Milburn to tie the game.  But Ian got the next batter to ground out and Brian Keane made a nice play at second to prevent any more runs.  Montville almost scored in the second when Jordan led off with a nice line drive single, stole two bases but with two out was stranded when Ian Tresser drilled a hard line drive to second for the last out.  Jordan Pitched the 3rd and 4th and did great, striking out 4 and allowing only two baserunners.  Montville scored again in the 3rd when John Marchionda singled and stole second and Brandon hit a bomb that hit the bottom of the 200ft fence on a fly scoring John and Montville led 2-1.  With 1st and 2nd, one out, Michael Trifari grounded to short and a bad throw allowed Brandon to score from second.  Jordan ripped a liner right to the pitcher and Michael got picked at first.   Montville got hits from Michael DelloStritto and another from John Marchionda but failed to score again.  John Marchionda picked up the save with two strikeouts and Matt Kelly caught a fly ball at third with runners on second and third to end the game.

Game 3.  Bernardsville  0-4  L
Montville goes down for the second time in two days losing to Bernardsville 4-0.  Things were looking good in the first inning as Brian Keane lead off with a single and Anthony Altieri layed down a perfect bunt and got on as well.  But the next two batters went down swinging and with two strikes on Ian Tresser, Brain Keane was caught stealing home after the catcher threw the ball over the pitchers head.  Jordan Gajdos was pitching for Montville and after a walk, some wild pitches and two singles, Bernardsville led 2-0.  But Jordan got a grove going and struck out three in a row and three of the next six batters.  Montville blew another opportunity in the 3rd when Brandon led off with a single, went to second when John Marchionda grounded out to first, Matt Ferguson walked bringing up their hottest hitter Brian Keane with 1st and 2nd one out.  Brian lined out to the pitcher and Matt was caught off first base to end the inning.  Montville had other opportunities to score but  Bernardsville made the plays and their pitcher's only made 2 wild pitches all game.  With the deep backstop, something Montville was not used to,  Montville allowed 9 runners to advance on wild pitches which was the big difference in the game as Montville out hit Bernardsville 5-4.   Stealing home, Bunting, 1st and 3rds, deep backstops,  90 deg weather... Montville has learned a lot about baseball in the first week of play.  They will be ready for the Districts and Wayne tournament this weekend.

Game 2.  North Caldwell  0-2  L
North Caldwell waited two weeks for this rematch and surprised Montville by switching dugouts giving Montville the SUN side.  Then things got weird when the ump said he was from Bergen County and doesn't ump around here.  He then explained that his strike zone is non standard and he likes to give pitchers outside strikes off the plate.   And give he did.  Montville struck out 10 times as North Caldwell's pitcher took advantage of the expanded territory.  Montville  registered ZERO hits against North Caldwell but did put runners in scoring position 3 times off walks and hit batters.  Brandon and John Marchionda rocked two balls that were caught by the North Caldwell fielders and Michael Trifari got robbed on a great play by the second baseman preventing a go ahead run in the 3rd.   North Caldwell managed 3 hits and scored 2 runs on very close tag plays at the plate in the bottom of the 4th.  With runners on 2nd and 3rd Troy Zbieg came in to pitch and struck-out the next two batters to end the inning.  Caldwell pitched their ace Lawless 6 innings (95 pitches) in 92 deg weather.   Montville pitched Brian Keane 3.5 innings and Brian did very well allowing 3 hits and recording 2 strikeouts.  Brian was supported very well by his fielders today with Anthony Altieri making some nice plays at second, Brandon and Ian made some nice plays in the outfield and Jordan gunned down a runner from center field going to third.   Brian also shined at shortstop making a really nice play in the 5th.  Montville threatened in the 6th when Troy and Ian walked with no outs.  Then more bad calls frustrated the Montville batters as Mike D had a strike called on a bunt attempt that he never offered at and Jordan check his swing on a high fastball which was also incorrectly called a strike.  Montville went down to North Caldwell 2-0 in runs,  6-0 in calls in a very well pitched and fielded game by both teams.

Game 1.  East Hanover  16-6 W
The Montville 9 yr old All Stars got their season off to a great start today beating East Hanover 16-6.  Jordan Gajdos started the season with a bang, ripping a double to right center to lead off the first.  He stole third and Michael Trifari drove him home with a grounder down the first base line.  John Marchionda reached on by error and Matt Ferguson walked.  Then Brain Keane hit a clutch single scoring both runners giving Montville a 3-0 lead.  Anthony Altieri started on the mound and pitched great but some fielding blunders (first game jitters) 4 of them to be exact, allowed East Hanover to score 4 runs on two hits and take a 4-3 lead after one.  Montville scored to tie the game in the second when Matt Kelly reached on error, Ian Tresser got one of his 4 walks of the game and Michael DelloStritto walked to load the bases.  Michael Trifari hit a come backer to the mound and the catcher dropped the ball when Troy Zbieg slid hard into home.   Anthony Altieri pitched and fielded his way out of the 2nd with no runs.  Montville put up 4 more in the 3rd when Matt Ferguson hustled, hustled, hustled to beat out an infield hit.  Brian Keane hit his second single.  Anthony and Matt Kelly got hit by pitches, Troy looped a single over second base, Ian walked and Mike DelloStritto hit a hard liner to short that was dropped but forced out a runner and scored a run. Ian Tresser pitched the 3rd and 4th innings allowing two hits to his first two batters, a single and triple, then pitched great striking out 3 in a row.  Montville blew the game open in the 4th when Brandon Adler lead off with a double, stole third,  then John and Matt walked, Brian Keane got hit in the head with a pitch to score Brandon, Anthony FC in a run,  John Marchionda couldn't wait to be the first player to steal home.  Troy walked, Brian Keane stole home also.  Ian walked (again), Michael DelloStritto hit a nice single up the middle to score two more, Michael Trifari ripped a hard shot off the third baseman's arm scoring two more to make it a 16-5 lead.  John Marchionda came in to pitch the last two innings and recorded 5 strikeouts, one hit and one run and Montville chalks up their first victory of the year 16-6.  

Batting Leader Report 
(top 6)

Pitching Leaders
(over 5 innings pitched)

Fielding Leaders